Angola
Basics Providers There are so far only 2 network operators in Angola: * Unitel * Movicel Unitel is the largest provider in Angola whereas Movicel is partially owned by the state telephone company. In 2017 state-owned landline incumbent Angola Telecom won a license on 800 MHz (B20) for 4G/LTE, but hasn't started yet. The national operater Angola Telecom has national and international fibre, copper and satellite infrastructure assets worth billions of dollars and is going to be part-privatised. A 4th mobile operator was licenced to Telsar in 2019, but this license was later revoked. In 2018 Angolan mobile telephony customers are increasingly complaining that services are too expensive and the signal quality remains below expectation. They demand substantial improvements in services and are satisfied with the possibility of new operators entering the market. The main complaints are about the cost of telephone calls, the poor quality of the network signal, the constant drops in the internet signal (mobile data) and, in some cases, the slowness of customer service. Availability Prepaid SIM cards are available in the outlets of the providers. Since 2014 SIM cards have to be registered and the government has launched an awareness campaign to have the existing active SIM cards registered by 2016. If you have an existing SIM card that not has been registered, your SIM card will be suspended until registration is completed. When going to a store to buy your SIM or to register your existing SIM card, bring your passport with a valid visa. More information about registration can be found here. Regulations In 2016 the Angolan regulator INACOM has prohibited sales of SIM cards by street vendors or via other ‘informal’ sales channels outside of authorised agent outlets. Mobile network operators must ‘adopt mechanisms and effective measures to withdraw immediately or to inhibit the sale of SIM cards outside of their official retail agent structure. INACOM and other relevant authorities will inspect and apply sanctions to every network operator that fails to comply with the issued instruction. Pricing in UTT Typical for Angola is that telecom operators used to quote the charges in tarif units. In October 2016 the tariff unit (Unidade Tarifaria de Telecomunicacoes or UTT) was raised to 10 Kwazas from the existing rate of 7.2 Kwazas (Kz) – a level which has stood since 2005. The tariff readjustment was attributed to sharp inflation rates in Angola. In Angola, prices for telecoms services such as prepaid mobile credit top-up cards are routinely displayed with their UTT unit amount/value: e.g. under the new tariff scheme a 125 UTT top-up card which previously cost 900 Kwazas to purchase will now set consumers back 1,250 Kwazas. Now providers have mostly shifted from UTT to Kwazas for prices, only Unitel still advertises UTT. Unitel Unitel is the most preferred provider and oldest GSM mobile network in Angola. Their network covers every major population area and with about 11 million subscribers (including pre-paid), it has a market share of 80%. The network has nationwide 2G coverage in 900 and 1800 MHz bands, UMTS in 2100 MHz and 4G LTE coverage on 1800 MHz (band 3) in Luanda Province. Availablity Prépago ''SIM cards are available at their stores for 900 Kz (locator) . As part of the SIM registration campaign, you can check the registration status online. Recharge cards are available in 35, 50, 125, 375, 625 and 1250 units for the price in Kz (x 10). The validity periods for each are 10, 30, 60, 90 and 180 days respectively. To recharge the account you can dial 19101 and follow the instructions or dial *101*#. To check your balance and to book other options dial *111#. '''Data packages' The standard rate is called "Net Light" at 5 Kz per MB. For buying following "BIG NET" data packages valid for one month, text "NET" plus the value in UTT eg."NET 125" to 19107: If you are using a dongle or want more data you can book following monthly plans via this link: * 20 GB: 25,000 Kz * 30 GB: 35,000 Kz In 2014 Unitel introduced Big Net Bundles as ongoing promotion: For activation text code to 19107. More info * APN: internet.unitel.co.ao * Website (in Portuguese only): http://www.unitel.ao Movicel Movicel is the much smaller operator in Angola with roughly 3 million subscribers. The company was set up by state-owned Angola Telecom initially using the CDMA technology, but was for 80% privatized later and moved to using GSM based technology. The network utilizes 900 Mhz and 1800 MHz bands for 2G and 2100 MHz for 3G with 4G/LTE coverage on 1800 MHz (band 3) in the provinces of Luanda, Cabinda and Benguela allowing speeds up to 75 Mbps. Movicel has phased out CDMA in March 2016 to make way for digital terrestrial television. Being the smallest, nevertheless Movicel was the first in Angola to launch LTE coverage in 2012 in Cabinda and Luanda provinces, ahead of Unitel. Availability SIM cards are available from their shops for 900 Kz. The base pre-paid tariff is called "Sempre Facil". Reloads (Recargas) are available in their shops and from street vendors. To reload just dial *198*# or text recharge code to 19198. Recharging cards are available with 400 Kz, 900 Kz, 2.500 Kz, 4.500 Kz and 8.800 Kz. To check balance dial *196#. Combo packages The standard data rate is 20 Kz per MB and is activated by default. Movicel offers combo packages that can be booked from your balance with voice data and texting as well as data-only packages. The Karga packages target the younger generation, but can also be booked by the young-at-heart as well. These packs auto-renew. To stop auto-renewal, text cancelar to 19500 and you will move back to the Sempre Facil tariff. These packages include data, texting and voice and come in 3 sizes: * Karga Leve+: 700 Kz for 7 days providing 100 MB of data, 100 minutes to Movicel, 15 minutes to other networks, 100 SMS; activation: text "Leve" to 19500 or dial *500*700# * Karga Nice+: 1800 Kz for 30 days providing 500 MB of data, 300 minutes to Movicel, 30 minutes to other networks, 300 SMS. To activate text "Nice" to 19500 or dial *500*1800# * Karga Tudo+: 3300 Kz for 30 days providing 1 GB of data, 600 minutes to Movicel, 60 minutes to other networks and 600 SMS. To activate text "Tudo" to 19500 or dial *500*3300# When you need to talk or text and navigate more there are the other plans called'' Sem Limites.'' Just like with the Karga ''packages you can always go back to ''Sempre Facil by texting cancelar to 19500. * Sem Limites Smart: ''5000 Kz. 1 GB data, unlimited calls to Movicell, 100 minutes to other networks, unlimited SMS; activation: text 'Smart' to 19500 or type *500*5000#. * ''Sem Limites Classic: 7''000 Kz. 2 GB of data, unlimited calls to Movicell network, 200 minutes to other networks, unlimited SMS; activation text 'Classic' to 19500 or type *500*7000#. * ''Sem Limites Plus: 15,000 Kz. 3 GB of data, unlimited calls to Movicell network, 500 minutes to other networks, unlimited SMS. To activate text 'Plus' to 19500 or type *500*15000#. Data-only packages The following data packs called Movinet can be added to any plans by texting the corresponding activation code to 19200. These packs auto-renew every 30 days until a message with any text has been sent to 19209. More Info * APN: internet.movicel.co.ao * Website (in Portuguese only): http://movicel.co.ao Category:Africa Category:Country Category:8/18